Drabble
by Laelia Sarai
Summary: Random drabblings. Finally updated. Chapter 2: Another Vin drabble. So sue me, I love the guy and he's fun as hell to write for. X3 Also, chapter 3 is up, this time for Jinx!
1. Chapter 1: Vin

Em: Yay! Random Vin drabble! Cos I was bored… and cos I love Vin. ;3

-

The paranoia.

It's rising, I can feel it.

It starts with the heat. Oh… the heat. It starts from the top and works it's way down until you're entirely engulfed by it.

Yep.

The heat's definitely there.

Okay, check.

Then there's that weird tingling sensation in your fingers. Like you want to strangle something. That alone makes me even sicker then normal.

Unfortunately, that stage has come to pass as well. Oh boy. Check two.

And… ahh, my favourite, the drowning feeling. Like no matter how big a breath you take, it's never enough. So you just keep gulping air until you're practically hyperventilating.

Which is what I'm doing right now.

… Check three.

Oh, great. Now I'm getting antsy. Normally when I get like this I just run around the room being productive to stop myself from going insane. But I can't. My leg's bouncing so hard it feels ready to come off.

Which is not a nice feeling, let me tell you.

Boy, do I hate it when this happens. But it's not my fault! I wasn't always like this, you know. You wouldn't recognize my younger self, no you would not. Complete 180 degree difference then how I am now.

I didn't have this damn paranoia, that's for sure.

I wasn't scared of anything or anyone. Ok, well, maybe a few things, but nothing that mattered. And certainly not frightened to the extent that I get now.

But not anymore. I've got more phobias then… well… something with a lot of phobias.

See? I can hardly think when I get like this. I can't talk right either. I've developed a horrid stutter. Not so bad that you can't understand me, just enough to be a nuisance. And it's not always there either… it starts just after I've started to get antsy…

Like now.

And just when I think it can't get any worse, that nervous, sick feeling pops up. And now it's complete. My damn paranoia's come back and it won't go away until I wake up tomorrow. It never does.

And tomorrow at some point it'll start all over again, because it always does.

Some people have asked me before, how do I know I'm paranoid… I summed it up pretty nicely, I think.

"Paranoia is waking up screaming and realizing you haven't gone to sleep yet." (1)

(1) Me no own. 'Twas on a short, mmmyep :3


	2. Chapter 2: Vin Again

Em: Wow. 6 reviews. Not bad for my first chapter, ne:3 Another Vin drabble because Vin needs love. (nods) Yep yep. Next chapter will be a Jinx drabble, then possibly a Krew drabble after that!

---

The clock at the bottom corner of the computer says '2:56 AM'

2:56 AM already?

Why am I still awake? Why am I still here? I can't go home now. It's too dark…

I hate the dark…

But this isn't my fault.

I can't sleep sometimes, so I have to completely wear myself down to utter exhaustion before drifting off.

Sometimes that doesn't even work and I'm left to lay in bed and just think until I just pass out from over-doing it.

And then there's all the work I have to do. If I'm going to get paid, I have to stay up, later and later so I can get more and more work done. I keep telling myself 'just 20 more, just 30 more…' but it's never enough. I stay up too late no matter what I do.

I'm starting to look too old, too tired. It's like I'm not me anymore, like I'm some completely different person.

And my damn paranoia doesn't help either. All the stressing I do doesn't help me at all, and my paranoid ways are probably half the reason I can't sleep at night.

I don't handle stress very well, so I pour it all into my work until I collapse onto the consol. I've slept on the floor countless nights because I exhausted myself to the point where I couldn't find enough strength to just go home.

… Like tonight.

My job itself isn't very helpful to my condition. Working for the Baron isn't exactly a stress-free job, and on top of that it's up to me to keep the entire city safe. Plus the fact that I'm technically a traitor to the man I work for and I have to hide it under all the stuttering I do.

That's no walk is the park.

I thought I'd be ready for it. The late nights, the stress.

But now I'm constantly looking over my shoulder if I'm having a slow day in the Power Station, even though I know nothing is there. Sometimes I get scared that my computers will malfunction because of over-usage and explode, killing me and taking down the walls in the blast.

Tch. As if that's likely.

I've checked these computers a thousand times over and there's no chance of that happening.

…

So why am I so scared that it will?

It's because working here makes me paranoid. I heard the last guy who worked here quit because he was too over-stressed and paranoid that he actually started seeing things. Now he's in some hospital dealing with electro-shock treatments because he went schizo.

I told myself I was too smart for that.

Heh.

Don't I wish?

Keeping busy is all I can do from going completely off the deep end, even though I'm so close it frightens me.

Not like that's any surprise to anyone.

I flip a switch and all the computers in the room shut down, except for the main one. It's so odd, the silence in the room without all the buzzing and whirring of the computers.

I crack my knuckles to break the deafening silence. It's a bad habit I've picked up over the years. It's no wonder I've got arthritis and a minor case of carpel tunnel. Considering how long I'm on my computers for.

By the end of the day my hands hurt something terrible, but it's nothing I can't deal with. That pain keeps me grounded. And on days when they're being particularly objective, I have pain medication stashed away. It makes me jittery, though.

Not jittery like I normally am, jittery like I've just downed 5 cups of black coffee.

I've been taking those pills more and more since that Jak guy's been coming around. Something about him just… creeps me out. I know he's Torn's best guy, but he's the biggest outlaw in the city and if anyone caught him anywhere NEAR the Power Station… well, let's just say I'd be suffering something worse then electro-shock treatments.

Hell, electro-shock treatments sound like heaven compared to what I'm sure the Baron'd do to me if he ever found out I was "one of the Underground's best informants" as Torn had so eloquently called me.

Jak's actually pretty useful- he's gone and taken out metal head eggs countless times for me; albeit begrudgingly. But I can't help but feel nervous around him. Moreso then anyone else.

And not to mention the annoying rat on his shoulder. Every time he comes in here I get even more stressed out because I just KNOW he'll break something if I take my eyes off him for a second.

Besides, I've heard about Jak. How he changes into a monster. A manifestation of the dark eco that the Baron so brutally pumped into him during his stay in prison.

Yeah. I know all about that. I helped supply the Baron with the eco he used for it.

That's why Jak makes me nervous. Because that dark eco in his body makes him at least 4 times stronger then a normal person. And scrawny little me can't protect myself from something like that. I can't protect myself from anything, really.

Is that why I'm so afraid? Because I can't protect myself from Jak, or the Metalheads, or the Baron if he finds out when I've been doing?

Imagine, dying at the hands of the Baron instead of being ripped apart by the Hora-Quan like I'd always thought would kill me.

Hm.

Hora-Quan.

That sounded MUCH less scary then 'Metalheads.' Probably because no-one used that terminology, and because 'Hora-Quan' is never used, it kind of helps me to forget the horrible destructive power they have.

And I know all about their destructive power.

I'd done so much research on the Precursors that I'd HAD to research the Metalheads too. They scared me and intrigued me, and being an intellectual, I had to know all about the monsters that haunted my dreams. Maybe that way I'd find some way to protect myself. As if all my knowledge about them would produce some weakness.

I suppose I can save that theory for tomorrow, considering I'm practically dead on the consol and my arm is numb. And I have to get back to work in 5 hours.

…

I think I need some pills.

--

Em: It took forever for me to figure out how to end it. I had up until "…and my arm is numb" and I couldn't figure out what else to write. Go figure only two more short sentences would end it. :sighs: Anyway, here's drabble number 2. Jinx's drabble is next, watch for it!


	3. Chapter 3: Jinx

Em: Well then, I didn't expect my drabble of (the lovable, huggable, pr- what? I can be obsessed, can't I::clings to Vin: ) Vin to be so successful:3 So… here's my Jinx drabble!

-

Yes.

I _do_ like to blow things up.

I like the smell of rotten hard-boiled eggs that is sulfur.

As I think I've said before…

Ain't the smell of sulfur grand?

I dunno how I got int'a this business, but it's a damn good one.

Name's Jinx. Y'don't need t'know anymore then that.

I don't work for any one person, but lately I've found myself in league with Krew more 'n more. Can't say I like the guy, but he pays a helluva lot. In cash.

Well, I deserve it, being I'm the best in the biz.

I work with two other guys, Grim and Mog. I could do my work alone, but that gets boring. Besides, it's fun as hell t'scare the pants offa those boys when I mess up with the explosives.

Which I don't do often.

It's mostly just for fun, 'cos like I said, those guys scare easily.

The big bad KG boys have been after my neck for awhile.

Heh. And to think they believe they can catch me.

I'm tempted to get one of those damn chicken-walkers and hot-wire it so it explodes all over them.

I can't remember how many of those damn things I've had to blow up or de-activate in the past couple'a months, but I'm sick of it. It's mostly protecting Krew's ass, too.

There're better things my skills could be used for.

I still dunno why no one knows who I am. I've gone in countless bars to find a lady-friend for the night and no one recognizes me.

I'm not tryin' ta feed my ego here, but c'mon. How can people NOT know who I am?

No respect, no respect at all…

I guess I'll haffta get used'ta it tho. It's not like I can tell EVERYONE who I am and what I do (although they'd undoubtedly be damned impressed by me. Cos, c'mon, my line of work is damn impressive. There are a few things about myself that are pretty impressive too, if you catch my drift, heh heh.) cos then I'll have the KG all over my ass.

And I quite _like_ my ass, thank you.

--

Em: Ehh, not the best place to leave off and not the longest chapter, but Jinx is surprisingly hard to write for. x.x I think I did pretty well, but I wanna know what you guys think! Leave me a nice review, cos you know you love me! X3


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